The museum reported Wednesday that a visiting exhibition of Picasso's works broke attendance records with well over 325,000 visitors, an all-time high for the museum's downtown location.

The boon associated with the legendary artist -- more tickets sold, a wave of publicity and skyrocketing membership rates -- will likely go a long way toward helping heal the museum's fractured financial foundation.

But a $5.5 million gift from the Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation could go even farther.

"We're really in good shape," SAM spokeswoman Cara Egan said Wednesday. "We're not out of the woods yet, but I think both of these events are tremendous gifts for the museum."

SAM, like many other non-profits, took an indirect one-two punch from the economic downturn. The museum financed a 2007 expansion by renting office space to WaMu, a long-standing Seattle institution that fell out of favor with financial regulators about a year later.

The bank's seizure left SAM holding the bag for several floors of empty offices and about $27 million in debt. The Gates Foundation grant, announced earlier this month, will help pay off some of that debt, essentially buying the museum more recovery time.

SAM officials said the organization has also raised millions from other donors, including WaMu-buyer JP Morgan Chase, to help alleviate its financial woes.

Revenue and attention from the three-month Picasso exhibit is like proverbial icing on the cake.

"It's definitely going to make a positive impact in our budget this year," Egan said. "We've had some tough times. I think what we're hoping is that we'll have real positive impact in our budget this year."

Exactly how much of an impact will be clear in June, when the museum's fiscal year ends. Egan said museum leaders are hoping revenue from the exhibit will help with operational expenses, including long-delayed employee pay raises associated with cost-of-living fluctuation.

"We're doing well," she said. "It's really taken us to a positive place."

For now, other numbers shed some light on just how much Picasso's works might have assisted SAM.

Museum memberships increased by a large percentage during the last part of 2010; at the end of August, SAM had about 30,000 member households.

Now, it has more than 43,000.

Egan estimates that almost 18,000 students visited the museum to see Picasso, and said partnerships with downtown businesses flourished due to the famous artist.

"We have more hotel partners in the city than ever before," she said. "There were Picasso windows in Pacific Place, Macy's, Banana Republic.... (it's a) a milestone for the city."

Several months ago, SAM's outlook wasn't so bright. The museum had cut positions, scaled back salaries of high-ranking staffers and shrunk operations. And in September, the museum announced it would borrow $10 million from its own endowment to help offset its mounting real-estate debt.

Luckily for SAM, friends are found in high places. Former museum director Mimi Gardner Gates is married to Bill Gates Sr., who acts as co-chair for his son's philanthropic foundation.

Picasso's works, usually housed at a museum in Paris, will remain on display at SAM through Monday, Jan. 17. Next, the exhibit will move to a museum in Virginia.

Because of an "overwhelming response to the show," SAM's hours will be extended through Monday -- from 10 a.m. to midnight.